Interviews (235)

• September 2, 2024
• Colleen Johnson
• 127
• 0

Looking for a little bit of a serene rock show this weekend? I have the perfect pick for you with Marika Hackman‘s return to Massachusetts this weekend! Hackman will bring her most recent release, Big Sigh, to The Sinclair in Cambridge this Saturday night, with openers Art School Girlfriend in tow. Hackman’s last and only show in Mass occurred in 2019 at Great Scott, the dearly departed venue that served as the room for the first shows for many a UK act. Be it Catfish and the Bottlemen to Barns Courtney and everything in between, the success rate continues with Hackman. “The dark ages,” as referred to by Marika in our recent chat, made me never take international acts spending time here in the States for granted. It was something that I don’t think many were even sure were to come back at one point.

In my chat with Marika, we chatted about Big Sigh and her preparations for her North American tour that kicks off in Toronto on 9/5 before the tour hits the famous Sinclair in Cambridge this Saturday night! Doors are at 7:30 pm, with the gig kicking off at 8:30 pm! Find our chat below and keep your eyes peeled for even more music from this talented artist, hopefully in the next few months!

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New England Sounds: A lot is going on for you right now. You’re about to start the North American tour. You’re playing the Manchester Psych Fest in two days. How have the preparations been going for this return to the US? I think it will be your first time here in Boston since pre-pandemic. 

Marika Hackman: Yeah, they’ve been good. I mean, I still feel like I have loads to do. I need to buy some sort of supplies, like pants and underwear. And things like the really basic shit you have to do before you go away for like five weeks. And I keep forgetting that. I’m working all weekend, I have a festival on Saturday, and we’re rehearsing on Sunday. But apart from that, I feel good about it; I’m feeling ready. So it’s probably just a little shopping trip to get like T-shirts and stuff, which is quite boring. 

 

NES: And then I know the Boston show is really early into the run; you start in Toronto, so I know you may not want to share much or can share much. But I know Big Sigh did come out in January, but you haven’t been here in several years. What are the plans for these shows? Are they mostly going to focus on Big Sigh? How have you been approaching these set lists? 

Marika: There’s a lot of the new record in there, but I’m never going to be one of those artists who’s like I’m only playing my new stuff. So there’s a good balance, I think, of sort of old-school bangers and some quieter, more introspective moments. And then, I think I’ve got maybe six tracks from the new record in there. 

 

NES: Then you released the Covers album in 2020, which I’m sure was a very therapeutic thing to produce at the time. But this is your first record since then. When did you start working on Big Sigh? When did you kind of start putting the songs together? I know it’s been a few months since the album came out, but considering the tour is about to begin for you in North America. 

Marika: When I was making the Covers record, I was already trying to write Big Sigh. So the Covers record was kind of a really good antidote to the fact that I was feeling pretty writer’s blocky. So I kind of focused on that for a bit and just flexed a bit with the production and stuff. And yeah, it was kind of over the year after that. Across the whole of 2021, I was still writing music. And I can’t remember when I went into the studio, but…what year are we in now (laughs)? I must have either gone into the studio very late in the year maybe in 2022, yeah, that’s right. And then I kind of finished it around February of ‘23 or whatever. But then I was basically sitting on it for a year, which was kind of a bit of a bum out because when you’re excited about something, you want to get it out in the world. It’s kind of nice just to release it straight away, but labels always are having different opinions about these things. 

 

NES: You released the single recently, so I’m sure you’re working on new music now. But despite doing this for so long, do you still feel the writing process is changing, or has it kind of fallen into a pretty steady rhythm for you? 

Marika: It’s kind of the same. It’s always just basically me noodling around on an instrument for a period of time until something kind of hits. I think I’ve been a little bit more trusting in the sort of immediacy of things the older I’ve got. When I first started, I was really keen on being unique, which was the most important thing to me. And I think I would just focus so much on creating quite a strange harmony and melody and flitting around between major and minor. And I think a lot of that stuff is still there, but I think I’ve landed in a place where I can still kind of craft some. But I’m also kind of just happy to let them fly out of me and not be too controlling over how they will end up. And just kind of letting them happen a bit more. Which has been quite a nice way. 

 

NES: As I said before, your last time here was in 2019 at Great Scott. There was that dark time in 2020-2021, where I don’t think we even knew if touring would return. Maybe something that you appreciate from the touring culture now, or something that had to change with the return to touring, if you do? 

Marika: I just appreciate sort of being in a room with sweaty people to be honest. It is quite a wonderful thing to all be sharing in a moment together. And I always had that to a degree before. But it feels much bigger now, especially in terms of traveling to go and perform and being able to move freely across the countries and stuff like that. I appreciate that so much more now. Being able to just come to these other places, because otherwise I’d just be stuck on this little island. And that wasn’t something that I ever obviously considered so much. So yeah, the appreciation was there but I think it’s heightened for sure. And I think because of the dark ages that we had in the past, I think that also kind of did put a bit of a pause in my process. So it’s also been the extra thing of it being even longer, an even bigger gap since before I’ve been doing these things again. It’s just kind of refreshing to get back out there and see people connecting with something you’ve made. 

 

NES: Then considering, I think it’s like the last year and a half or so, besides the acts that have lots and lots of money behind them, is when many UK acts have started to be able to come back here. Bands from Australia, pretty much all over the world, at least regarding North American touring. Are there bands in the UK that you really like and think people should check out and listen to? Or maybe friends of yours that you think people should check out? 

Marika: Ooh, yeah. My friend’s in a band called Our Girl, and they’re amazing; I love them. And it would be awesome if they could get out to America. I mean, the thing is, it is really hard, and it’s really expensive. I can only do this tour because I got government funding from the UK to get out there. But yeah, it’s difficult; even where I’m at, I think I’m somewhere in the middle. It’s impossible, I think, for even smaller artists. Something has to change at some point with the whole touring expense. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be able to last too long if it stays how it is. I digress, but Our Girl, everyone should check out Our Girl. 

NES: I’m not the musician on the road, but I’ve heard talk of that. I can see that. It is so expensive. Just being able to come into the US and play shows with the Visa costs and everything, from what I’ve heard. 

Marika: Yeah those visas are spendy. But it’s hard to tour Europe as well. It’s still really expensive. There are just so many costs, and the trouble is that they’ve all gone up because everything’s more expensive now, isn’t it? The artist isn’t getting higher fees, so it kind of doesn’t really work. 

 

NES: To maybe wrap up the interview, you’re about to start this North American tour. The first show is in Toronto, followed by Montreal. But you released a new single; I know you were sitting on that record, but I’m sure you’re antsy or already working on new music. Maybe hopes or goals for these next few months as you take on this North American tour or as an artist these next few months?

Marika: Well, to be fair, my biggest goal is to get another album written fast. I’ve already started that process, and I have already written songs. And I’m very excited to see where this one goes. I mean, it will also be trying to find time, maybe on the tour, where I can just sneak off for an hour or so on my own. And try to do a bit of writing and stuff like that. 

But so much of my goals these days is about just enjoying myself. And making the best out of every situation. I’m aiming to just have a lot of fun, like on this adventure for five weeks. Meet some cool people and see some cool places I’ve never seen before. Then, come back and enjoy settling back into the routine of being at home, writing, like a slower pace of life, and just chilling out. Hopefully, getting into the studio early next year will be my dream. It depends on if I get everything written, so that’s kind of my goals for the next six months.  

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9/7: Marika Hackman with Art School Girlfriend/The Sinclair/Cambridge, MA

Doors are at 7:30, opener Art School Girlfriend hits the stage at 8:30 pm! Limited tickets can still be grabbed here!